Venerable Financial District German restaurant Schroeder's has been reinvented, with lighting on the 1930s wall murals and floor-to-ceiling black mesh curtains to define the various areas.

Venerable Financial District German restaurant Schroeder's has been reinvented, with lighting on the 1930s wall murals and floor-to-ceiling black mesh curtains to define the various areas.

Photo: John Storey, Special To The Chronicle

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The beets are a classic dish at Schroeder's.

The beets are a classic dish at Schroeder's.

Photo: John Storey, Special To The Chronicle

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People enjoy happy hour at Schroeder's in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 3rd, 2014.

People enjoy happy hour at Schroeder's in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 3rd, 2014.

Photo: John Storey, Special To The Chronicle

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The Beef Tongue at Schroeder's in San Francisco, Calif., is seen on Thursday, July 3rd, 2014.

The Beef Tongue at Schroeder's in San Francisco, Calif., is seen on Thursday, July 3rd, 2014.

Photo: John Storey, Special To The Chronicle

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The Black Forest Cake at Schroeder's in San Francisco, Calif., is seen on Thursday, July 3rd, 2014.

The Black Forest Cake at Schroeder's in San Francisco, Calif., is seen on Thursday, July 3rd, 2014.

Photo: John Storey, Special To The Chronicle

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The interior of Schroeder's in San Francisco, Calif., is seen on Thursday, July 3rd, 2014.

The interior of Schroeder's in San Francisco, Calif., is seen on Thursday, July 3rd, 2014.

Photo: John Storey, Special To The Chronicle

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Condiments at Schroeder's in San Francisco, Calif., are seen on Thursday, July 3rd, 2014.

Condiments at Schroeder's in San Francisco, Calif., are seen on Thursday, July 3rd, 2014.

Photo: John Storey, Special To The Chronicle

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Restaurant review: Schroeder's German classic reopens

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Rebirth and reinvention in the restaurant business are a Sisyphean task. Fleur de Lys did it once when it was sagging, but after 28 years with Hubert Keller at the helm, it fell into the doldrums and closed last month.

Others have gone before it, including Ernie's and Old Poodle Dog, and it looked as if Schroeder's might suffer the same fate. The German hofbrau had been in business since 1893, although it had changed with the times. After all, they began letting women into the inner sanctum in the 1970s. The space was so cavernous it could house a bowling alley, and it was always dark, almost foreboding.

A few months ago, it was taken over by Andy Chun and Jan Wiginton, who also own Press Club. They closed for a remodel to bring it alive while maintaining a sense of history. They lit the Herman Richter murals that date from the 1930s, and cleaned up the rich, dark wainscoting that's similar to what you find at Sam's Grill and other classic San Francisco restaurants. They also installed light wood floors and added floor-to-ceiling black mesh curtains to define the various areas.

The kitchen has been opened up, separated from the dining room only by an open shelf filled with vintage beer steins that telegraph the restaurant's strength in beverage offerings - 17 draft beers.

It's a "back to the future" moment when you walk in on a Friday. The place is packed with Financial District workers, many of whom are standing at the bar or sitting at the wooden tables drinking enormous boots of beer.

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Farther back into the dining room the scene gets more subdued but still bustling. Communal tables dominate the center of the room, but planters filled with dried wheat can be moved to partition off the long tables, affording some privacy.

The food under Manfred Wrembel has a modern approach. Wrembel spent six years at Incanto, so he knows something about meat. He's also channeling his heritage; both parents are German and his grandfather was a butcher in Germany.

The result is using traditional ingredients in modern guises. Slices of beef tongue ($14), for example, are covered with steamed asparagus cut lengthwise, capers, shaved radishes, creme fraiche and a thick dusting of horseradish that makes it look as if it were being camouflaged to blend into the speckled plate.

Potato pancakes ($13) act as a crisp platform for slices of smoked salmon accented with creme fraiche, gherkins and horseradish. The beet salad ($11) is composed of both marinated and pickled vegetables, their earthiness tamed with a thick drizzle of honey, paper-thin wafers of pumpernickel bread and chunks of goat cheese.

Wrembel also does a great job with pork belly ($13) arranged in a thick pool of horseradish cream with the brilliant addition of tarragon and English peas. The kitchen also shines on duck breast ($29) with spelt and a restrained flavoring of cherries and chocolate balanced by bitter treviso.

While the potential is clear in these dishes, at times the kitchen loses control, and classics that should be nailed fall apart. That was the case with Wiener schnitzel ($24). On two occasions the veal was covered in a thick dense breading that lifted off like a wool blanket when we cut through into the dull, gray piece of meat. It didn't help that the puree of onions underneath turned the breading gooey.

On another visit at lunch, a similar treatment was used with chicken. The thin fillets went into a sandwich ($14) with cabbage, avocado and mustard vinaigrette, and the fry was more delicate. But frying doesn't seem to be a strength of the kitchen - Brussels sprouts ($9) were cool and greasy and the addition of brown sugar made them unappetizingly sweet.

The kraut burger ($15) had similar issues: Sauerkraut, caramelized onions and what tasted like bread-and-butter pickles made the burger overly sweet. A mushy spaetzle ($12), with more corn than the advertised product, needed to be rethought.

The pork chop ($27) with greens, mushrooms and a scattering of wheat berries was nicely conceived, but the meat was juicy on one visit, overcooked on another.

I still can't figure out why a dish of baby artichokes with garbanzos was $22. It seemed overpriced, and the wan seasonings made it one-note.

Pastry chef Robin Kloess takes liberties with dessert. The Black Forest cake ($8) is a square of ganache, with kirsch-marinated cherries on one side, whipped cream in the center and caramel corn on the other side. Crepes with bush berries and white chocolate cream ($7) were served cold and kind of flabby on one visit, but the yogurt Bavarian ($6) was a winner. It's served in a squat glass, layered with apricots and pistachios, and topped with candied ginger.

Service at times could use an infusion of common sense. On one visit the waiter painstakingly described just about everything on the menu - then when our food arrived she went through the entire process again. On another visit when we wanted to know about one of the Rieslings on the list, the waiter was at a loss. German wines and beers star, though there is also a full bar with well-made cocktails.

Yet, despite the unevenness, there's a lot of love for the place that goes beyond nostalgia. I ran into a native San Franciscan - his family dates to the Gold Rush days - who has visited several times since the reopening. He fondly remembers eating at the restaurant with his grandfather, and was happy to see the place had taken on a modern visage but was still recognizable.

Schroeder's is bringing people back, as well as finding a new generation of customers. If the kitchen can find its center, it will be a place worth celebrating - not just for the beer in the glass boot, but for its reinterpretation of German food.